


Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

by Scandalmuss



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, F/M, M/M, Magical Accidents, Oblivious Merlin, Romance and Fluff, brief Merlin/Gazelle, so much swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scandalmuss/pseuds/Scandalmuss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxy Morton spends each day trying to forget that her late mother's restaurant was failing. All she wanted was for something to go right for once.<br/>Enter Merlin, department store manager, with an incredibly informal assistant named Eggsy (who has a massive crush on their boss, Harry Hart). </p><p>Who knew that chasing a crab in a farmer's market, would lead to falling in love?</p><p>A Simply Irresistible AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Reel Kingsman event!!!
> 
> A few notes: While I have an embarrassing love of Simple Irresistible, I really found that I disliked a lot of the cheesy magic involved. So it went from a 60% magic-filled movie to a 20% magic-filled fic. I replaced most of the ridiculous magical stuff with ridiculous amounts of banter, Percilot fluff and foul language. Because nothing screams rom-com, like the word "Fuck". And some of the dialogue comes directly from the movie but as I changed and added a whole bunch, it's not word for word.

 

The normally traffic-packed street had been blocked off for that morning’s farmers market. Vendors were set up on either side of the street, while food trucks and stands were set up at the far end of the market. It was a crisp spring morning and the air just seemed fresher. Roxy hoisted up her empty canvas shopping tote and made her way over to her favourite fruit stand. She waved to Mrs. Mitchell and then smiled broadly at her young tween daughter Wendy.

 "Good morning, ladies!” Roxy said cheerily, stepping in front of their stand. Roxy’s eyes scanned over the brightly coloured berries and asked Mrs. Mitchell what was best.

 “Strawberries, for sure Roxanne.”

 Roxy slyly looked over to Wendy, who then shook her head and mouthed “raspberries”. She looked back up to Mrs. Mitchell, “Those do sound lovely, but I think I’ll take a pound of the raspberries today.” She smiled slyly at Wendy. “Thank you” she mouthed as Mrs. Mitchell put the berries in a bag. Wendy nodded and grinned back at Roxy.

 Once the berries were in her tote, Roxy made her way over to the Hesketh family’s vegetable stand, trying not to smile too widely at Charlie, the son. He had made no secret of practically being in love with her and Roxy really had no desire to further his crush in any way. She smiled plainly at Charlie’s utterly besotted grin.

 “Hi Roxy!” he said far too excitedly for Roxy’s tastes.

 She nodded at Charlie and his father, “Good morning gentlemen! How is your morning going so far?”

 Hesketh Senior hoisted up an empty bucket and put it on the back of their truck, “It’s been a good morning for us, Roxy! How has yours been?”

 Before she could answer, Charlie interrupted as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer, “I’m sorry you guys are closing,” he blurted out.

 Roxy stilled, completely taken aback by Charlie’s comment. “I beg your pardon?!”

 Hesketh Senior smacked Charlie upside the head, “Sorry Roxy. Charlie is just confused-”

 “But Dad I heard that-”

 “I can assure you both,” Roxy cleared her throat, “that business may be a bit slow but we are in no way closing,” she made pointed eye contact with Charlie, “At. All.” Once she was certain he got the point, she gestured to the empty basket of shiitake mushrooms. “Where did they go?”

 Hesketh Senior scoffed as Charlie glared off in the distance, “That posh chef, Rossi has them.” Charlie all but spat out, pointing in the direction he was glaring at.

 Roxy turned to look at the small crowd around a snobby-looking man in chef whites. The man literally had his nose in the air like he couldn’t bear to be around the small people. He was gesturing wildly at what she assumed were his minions and a tall man in a suit. Roxy shook her head and turned back towards the booth.

 “Oh good! You’ve spotted him!”

 Roxy jumped at the sudden voice beside her. A smiling young woman with auburn hair, straight bangs and a smart navy suit, sat next to the Hesketh booth.

 “Um, I’ve never seen him before,” Roxy mumbled.

 The young woman laughed lightly, “No, no, not him, the other one!”

 Roxy’s eyes briefly sought out the tall man in the suit again, but her attention was immediately brought back to the unusual woman next to her. “I don’t know that I’ve seen you here before, are you here often?”

 “Only when absolutely necessary,” the young woman smiled again. “it’s an awfully long trip.” she turned around and picked up a large basket, “Here! These are for you!”

 Peering into the basket, Roxy barely stopped herself from pulling a face. The basket was full of live crabs and it took everything in her not to freak out as the top one snapped its claws. “I’m sorry, I wouldn’t know what to do with crabs. Thank you though,” Roxy said politely, walking away towards another stall. She jumped in confusion as the young woman was now beside the bakery stall. “Erm, weren’t you just over there?”

The young woman stood up and looked at Roxy calmly, “It’s important to note that the wind from one door closing, opens another,” she picked up the basket of crabs again. “You should take these crabs, Roxy,” she smiled earnestly. “You’re mother wants you to start living up to your potential.”

Roxy took a large step back from the young woman. “I don’t know who you think I am but my mother is dead.” Her heart started to beat faster. Who the hell was this stranger?

The young woman folded her hands behind her back, “That’s no reason to ignore her.” she said plainly.

Sudden shouting was heard from the general direction of the chef. Both Roxy and the young woman turned to look at the man berating one of his minions.

“He was awfully unpleasant,” the young woman’s frown turned into a smile as she looked back at Roxy, “that’ll be 28 pounds, please!”

Roxy, still flustered at the rude chef, nodded and handed money over to the young woman, her eyes never quite leaving the spectacle, until the young woman called out, “Don’t let that one get away!”

Roxy turned around quickly and watched one of the crabs crawl under a table. She groaned and got down on her hands and knees, crawling after the crab. “Oh come here you little-”, Roxy’s hand shot out from under the table to grab the crab. “Gotcha!”, she shouted triumphantly. Her triumph disappeared rather quickly when she realized that she was not holding on to the shell of a crab but in fact holding on to a patent leather shoe. The tablecloth she was under lifted up and all she could hear was a deep voiced chuckle. She looked up and met eyes with the tall man in the suit from earlier. Her eyes took in his face, his easy grin and his suddenly too beautiful to look at grey green eyes behind black half-rimmed glasses. She quickly shut her gaping mouth and fought the blush rising to her cheeks.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry. Something is going to crawl up your leg!”

The man smirked and held out his other hand for Roxy to grab. But at that moment, the crab snapped at his leg and the man jumped a little, cursing in a language Roxy didn’t understand.

She quickly got up and dusted off her skirt, “I’m so sorry, sir.” Her eyes drifted back up to the man’s face. Her heart hadn’t calmed down in the slightest and she forced herself to stop staring at him. “That uh, crab...he’s going to be lunch at my restaurant,” she blurted out quickly.

 The man raised his eyebrows and smiled at her, “Oh really?”

  _Oh god, he’s Scottish. Shut up brain, not now!_ Roxy nodded quickly, “Yeah, I’m going to make something-” her eyes flew around her surroundings for some help with her words. A taxi pulled up across the street, the sign on top advertising some event on Napoleon at the museum. “Something Napoleonic!” she nearly shouted at the handsome, older man. “It’ll be delicious,” she finished quietly, completely embarrassed for how she was behaving.

 But the man didn’t even seem to notice. “I’m sure it will be quite delicious,” he grinned.

 Roxy’s eyes couldn’t help but trace along the fine cut of his suit. It was obviously bespoke and it did just wonderful things for the lithe shape of his body. She made sure to stop herself from wondering how much was the suit and how much was the man underneath. “You, um, you don’t look like you’re in the restaurant business,” she tried to say casually.

 The man huffed out a laugh, looked down at himself and then back up at Roxy, “You don’t think so? Why not?”

  _Stop biting your lip, you tart._ “The suit,” she said evenly.

 “Ah,” the man nodded.

 “Are you?”

 “Well, sort of? I’m about to open a restaurant and-” he stopped, looking around quickly, “-and I seem to have lost my bloody chef.” He turned back to Roxy, “And you appear to have lost your crustacean,” He grinned. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” his grin turned into the warmest smile Roxy had ever been witness to.

 “You too.” she nodded, feeling her cheeks heat up. She watched the man walk away into the crowd. _Well this is a new feeling_ , she thought nervously. Never in her young life had someone had that kind of instant effect on her.

 “I found your little wandering friend!” the young woman from before, said excitedly, “By the way, my name is Amelia Barnes!”

 “Um, nice to meet you?” Roxy said, still in a bit of a daze. She turned around fully, to speak to Amelia but the young woman had suddenly vanished. Roxy whipped her head around, trying to spot the young woman but it was to no avail. _Oh god, did I just make that up?_ She looked down at the basket of crabs. “Shit, apparently not.” Roxy inhaled deeply as she picked up the heavy basket and started to make her way back to the restaurant.

\-----

Percival held the door open for Roxy, he pointed to the basket, “What on earth are you doing with those?!”

“Ugh, don’t even ask. I’ve had the strangest morning.” Roxy grimaced, putting the groceries on one of the restaurant’s tables.

It was a small space, more long that it was wide. Back when her mum was alive, they easily fit fifty people in the tight space nightly. But that was years ago. As of late, they’ve only had the regulars every day and one of them didn’t even eat the food, he just brought his own lunch.

Roxy looked at her brother sternly, “I spoke to Charlie today.”

Percy smiled, “Aww did he ask you out yet?”

She walked up to the bar counter that Percy was back behind, her hands on her hips. “No, he actually said he was sorry we were closing,” Roxy’s eyes tracked Percival’s sudden nervous expression, “we _aren’t_ closing Percy. Why would he say that?!”

Percival walked around to the front of the bar and sat on a stool, “Rox, love we need to think about this rationally. The landlords have raised the rent and we-” he sighed deeply. “-we just can’t afford to keep this place anymore.”

“We’ve been here for seventy years, Percy! We can’t just give up! Mum wouldn’t have wanted that!” she cried out.

Percival’s hand rested on her shoulder, “Roxy, we can’t just ignore this,” he tried to smile at his baby sister, hoping to coax her out of her frown. “Come on love, James made tea.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her into the kitchen.

\-----

Merlin hated press junkets. But he understood the importance of them and was surprisingly rather good at them. He looked out at the assembled media in the foyer of the store. This was going to be quick and painless and then he could get some actual work done. Merlin glanced behind himself briefly, failing to notice the panicked look on his assistant, Eggsy’s, face.

He faced the media and cleared his throat. All eyes were on him and he smiled his public persona smile. “Thank you all for coming. Since Kingsman first opened in London, it was the most elegant store for men and women alike. And now Harry Hart, Chester King’s 3rd generational grandson continues that tradition by opening the first ever four star luxury restaurant in a department store.” He waited for the ‘ooo’s and ahh’s’ to finish.

“After an exquisite meal at Harry’s, customers will have the run of the store. It’s a whole new approach to fine dining and retail,” he smiled again, holding up his hands in a small goodbye gesture, “you’ll all see next week. Thank you so much for coming!” he nodded and turned around to leave, only to be stopped by a reporter.

“Excuse me sir, but I hear that you’ve spent four million pounds on this restaurant. That’s a pretty heavy gamble, don’t you think?”

Merlin smiled politely, “It’s not a gamble if you have the right ingredients. Again, thank you all for coming.” He turned around abruptly to avoid any more questions. The restaurant was causing him endless amounts of stress. He’d barely slept in a fortnight and was close to installing an espresso machine in his office.

Eggsy waited for Merlin to be out of earshot of the media before he bounced up to the man, clutching his tablet, “Merls, there’s a terrifying girl in your office, right now.”

“A terrifying...fuck, Gazelle? Eggsy, why is she in my office _alone_ ?!” Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d barely dated Gazelle and the young woman was inserting herself into his life without even asking. He was set to break if off soon but he could just hear the voices in his head saying _At least give her a chance!_ Even though all he wanted to do was to send her packing and get back to work. Work was good for him. He understood everything that happened there. Women were just too much. He couldn’t handle them.

They both walked into the elevator and Eggsy pressed the Penthouse button, “I’m sorry, she just kinda barged in. She’s scary!”

Merlin sighed, “I know, Eggsy. I know.” he stepped out of the elevator and walked towards his office, only to be stopped by Gazelle’s arms wrapped around his neck.

“Good morning, darling,” she smiled. Her long lashes fell against her cheek as she stood up to kiss Merlin. Her lips pressed against his and that was as far as the kiss got. When she pulled back, Merlin’s hands were still at his sides. She frowned slightly and let go of him. She pursed her lips and bopped his nose, “Don’t forget about lunch, my darling.”

“Right, lunch, of course.” He forced out a smile and waved at her as she walked towards the elevator.

Eggsy shut the office door behind them, “Fuck sakes, that was awkward. You don’t seem into her at all, mate.” he said, slouching down in the chair across from Merlin’s massive glass desk.

Merlin collapsed into his own chair, “I’m not. She’s just- ugh, I don’t know. But it’s our third date and-”

“Oooo!” Eggsy laughed, “What happens on the third date?” he teased.

“Everything just goes downhill. Look.” Merlin pressed a few buttons on his keyboard and a massive graph came up on the screen against the wall next to them. He stood up and walked over to the screen and gestured, “This is happiness over time.”

“You keep track of this?” Eggsy couldn’t hide his confusion. This was mental, even for Merlin.

Merlin just carried on, “Of course I do! See, look after the third date, happiness drops considerably!”

“I’m worried about you, mate.”

“Hear me out. In the beginning, everyone is well-mannered, no one really expects anything to happen but by the fourth date, it becomes a relationship with the mind games and the unmet expectations.” Merlin flopped back down in his leather office chair. “It’ll get to the point where she’s thinking, _“Oh, when is he going to propose? What will our kids look like?”_ And I’m here thinking, _“Do I have to spend every weekend with her? Am I spending too much time at the office? Will she get suspicious?”_ then there’s the fights and the making up and it’s just bloody awful because it started out so… nice."

Eggsy sat up in his chair at stared at his boss, “Um, bruv, I think you need to start thinking about what _you_ do after three dates that makes everyone else fucking miserable.”

“What _I_ do?” Merlin deadpanned.

“You’ve got a fucking pie chart-”

“Graph.”

Eggsy’s lips thin as he stared at Merlin pointedly, “Yeah, cos _that’s_ the fucking problem here.”

Merlin groaned, “Oh piss off!”

\------

Roxy looked over at her brother-in-law, James. He’d been prepping vegetables while Roxy tried to make a tomato sauce that didn’t taste like wine that had been left out in the sun for a thousand years. But they were slowly getting into the twenty minutes range of James talking about rugby.

“I mean, how much more British could the penalty “act contrary to good sportsmanship” sound? Christ, sometimes this sport just-”

Roxy slammed her hand against his prep table, “James, for the last damn time, you know I don’t give a shit about rugby." she straightened and walked back over to the stove. "Please come and try this sauce, I was thinking about using it over chicken."

James looked indignant and stuck out his tongue at her, regardless of being at least seventeen years her senior. He stood next to her and waited patiently for the spoon to make it’s way to his mouth. The moment the “sauce” hit his tongue, it took everything in his power to not make a face. “It’s good!” he said unconvincingly, as he choked it down.

“You realize you can’t lie, right?” She sighed, not-so-gently throwing the small pot into the sink.

“It takes like bleu cheese and dirt. How on earth did you manage that?”

“Fuck off,” she grumbled. “I don’t know. I used to be good at this right?”

James patted her back gently, “It’s okay, Rox. We’ll find other work.”

Roxy laughed cruelly, “Yes, let’s do that. _Shitty chef and crap sous chef looking for restaurant to ruin._ ”

“Hey! I’m not crap!”

“And thank you _so much_ for not defending me, there.” she stuck out her tongue and left the kitchen.

She didn’t want to have to break the news to their regulars but with each moment that passed, Roxy knew that she couldn’t lie to herself anymore, let alone the people that had supported her and her family since her mother passed away.

\-----

Roxy sat outside on the steps of the restaurant. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks as she leaned against the door. At least their regulars had taken it well. They’d tried to argue with the decision and then attempted to hug her when she broke down into tears. So like a mature adult, she escaped to the front steps. _What am I going to do? This is all I’ve ever known_.

 "What the hell?! It can’t just leave us here!”

 Roxy looked up and watched a cab drive off, the driver looking remarkably like Amelia from that morning and leaving its passengers on the roadside. The younger of the pair gestured wildly and cursed at the cab. The young woman’s sleek black hair and form-fitting dress made her stick out like a sore thumb. She turned to face the man she was with and screeched at him to get off of his phone. Roxy chuckled to herself, “The princess is no longer in her penthouse suite!” she whispered to herself.

 She let her eyes cast over to the man. Her heartbeat sped up instantly, it was the tall man from this morning! But then her brain quickly pointed out that that young goddess looking women was obviously his girlfriend and _fuck, we_ _ll, what’s another dream dashed in one day?_ she thought grimly. Roxy looked back over at the pair and she would forever deny that she gasped but the man called out to her and started to walk across the street, with his goddess in tow.

 The Goddess got to Roxy before the man, she pointed at her tablet with her phone, “Do you know where-”

 “Hi,” the man smiled.

 Roxy most definitely blushed, “Hello.”

 The Goddess looked between the two of them, “Do you know each other?”

 The man’s smile got even wider, “Her crab bit me.”

 Choking out a laugh, Roxy stared at the man who obviously had no idea what kind of state his girlfriend was in. The girlfriend who had just shoved her tablet under Roxy’s nose.

 “Do you know where this restaurant is?!” The Goddess asked slowly, as if Roxy didn’t speak English.

 Roxy glared at the woman as the man interrupted his girlfriend yet again.  

 “Gazelle, forget it, let’s eat here.”

 “You’re serious?!” Roxy nearly shouted.

 The man calmly slid his hands down into his suit pockets, “Were you just teasing about the crab Napoleon?”

 “What? Um, no?”

 The Goddess sighed, “Do you at least have a menu or something?”

 Roxy just wanted to boot this rude woman in the arse. But she turned around and walked into the restaurant. _What’s one more humiliation?_

\------

James nearly dropped the pot of water he was carrying when Roxy burst into the kitchen.

“He’s here!” she hissed.

He took note of the blush on her cheeks and whistled at her, “Ooo, who’s here?”

Roxy bustled around the kitchen, dusting off her clean apron and picking up and then putting down spoons, “The guy from the market. I told him I could make crab Napoleon.”

James burst out laughing and then promptly shut up after being glared at, “Tell him we’re out then. Or that we’re closed!

She stood still, in front of the door.

“Or I will.” James said, making his way to the kitchen door. He stopped abruptly when Roxy’s small hand wrapped around his wrist.

“No! Then he’ll leave!” Roxy whined.

James stopped and faced Roxy, his hands on her shoulders. “I’m may be your brother-in-law and I may love you an awful amount, but I’m not above rolling my eyes at you right now. If we don’t kick him out, then you have to make crab Napoleon.”

“Fuck, I do, don’t I?” Roxy looked at the floor between them.

He sighed and lifted her chin, “Why don’t you go get your mum’s recipe books?”

Roxy brightened immediately, “Yes! Yes, I can do that!” she bolted from James’ embrace and ran up the stairs to the loft they all shared.

James turned his attention to the bucket of crabs still sitting on the counter. He glared at them, “I don’t know what the hell she’s planning on doing with you, but I think you’re gross.”

Percival poked his head into the kitchen and stared at his husband. “Why on earth are you talking to those crabs?”

Startled, James looked at Percy and shrugged. “You still love me, right?”

Percy scoffed, “As if you could get rid of me that easy. I’ve seen you talk to weirder things.”

James threw up his hands, “That was one time! And I was drunk, you cannot judge me for that.”

Percy hip checked the door and walked fully into the kitchen. “As I recall, it was a tumbleweed that you’d convinced yourself was lost and you kept taking it around to other pieces of shrubbery, asking if it was ‘home yet’,” he finished while smiling sarcastically.

“One time.” James mumbled sullenly, filling up a sink with hot water. He felt Percy’s arms wrap around his waist. He let his head drop onto the other man’s shoulder, “We’re going to be okay, right?”

Percy hummed quietly, kissing the side of James’ face, “I hope so.” His hands slid down to hold on to his husband’s, “I just want Roxy to have some self confidence again.”

James turned around and nodded. He knew his way of coping with stress was to use humour to deflect but in that moment, he was so glad he had Percival by his side.

Both men pulled apart as they heard Roxy bounce down the stairs. Percy raised an eyebrow at his sister, “Rox, this place is old, you can't just jump down the stairs like that! I'm certain that second last step is going to break in half of we’re not more careful!”

Roxy’s hands sat on her hips, “Maybe all sexual activities should be kept to your bedroom then.”

Both James and Percival blushed instantly, James only recalling how to speak after Roxy’s expression got more smug, “It was _one_ time!”

“I'm an impressionable young woman! Once is enough!”

Percival let go of James’ hands and walked towards to door, “I'm walking away from this conversation before she starts lobbing details at us.” he winked and then stepped out into the restaurant.

James gaped at Roxy, “Thank you _so_ _much_ for that!”

“Watch me not feel guilty.” she smirked, walking over to the bucket of crabs.

“Hey, where are the cookbooks?”

Roxy’s fingers brushed her hair back behind her ears and a pair of gold earrings came into view.

James made a face, “Roxy, those aren't cookbooks. Are we going to use them to pay rent?”

“Shut up, I know,” she said softly, “they're Mum’s.”

Sighing, James rested his hand under Roxy’s chin, “Okay, I'm with you. What should we do?”

Roxy exhaled sharply, “Do you think we can pull crab Napoleon out of our arses?”

Percival stepped back into the kitchen, “Well, if you can do that, then you should also pull out chicken paillard because that's what that terrifying young woman out there wants.”

“It's not on the bloody menu!” James exclaimed.

Raising an eyebrow, Percival nodded to the dining room, “Do _you_ want to go tell her that?”

Both James and Roxy shook their heads emphatically.

“That's what I thought.” Percy said smugly, as he left the kitchen.

“Just once, I’d like everything to go right,” Roxy sighed, “I’m tired of just getting by. I just want that one dish, that one perfect bite.” She picked up a saucepot and started to gather ingredients. “Do you know how many words there are for delicious?” Her voice started to take on a dreamy quality, each word it’s own sigh out of her mouth,  “Delectable. Pleasant. Mouth-watering. Savoury. Heavenly. Tempting. Lucious. Rich. Enticin-” Roxy stared down to where the pot used to be and in its place was a perfectly plated crab Napoleon. “Um, what the hell?!”

James turned around and openly gawked at the gorgeous plate, “Are you a witch?” he whispered slowly.

Roxy just stuttered and shook her head while staring at the plate. Percival sauntered in and didn’t take notice of the total awe and silence that had settled on the kitchen.

 “Is it done yet? The people who refused my mid-afternoon martinis want their fo-” Percy’s hand shot out to point accusingly at the plate, “-the hell is that?!”

 “I don’t know?” Roxy looked up at her brother in confusion. She had no idea how that disturbingly accurate crab Napoleon ended up on a plate in front of her.

 -----

 Percival reigned in his surprise at Roxy’s cooking as he presented the plates to the man and his fierce looking girlfriend. The man clapped his hands and looked at the dish hungrily.

 “This is perfect, thank you!” He nodded to Percival, who then retreated to the kitchen to watch from the porthole windows in the door with Roxy and James.

 Merlin unravelled his cutlery from the napkin and looked over at Gazelle, “We should talk, I’ve uh, been thinking about us.”

 Gazelle practically beamed at him, “Me too! I think we should take things to the next level.”

 Her answer bypassed Merlin’s brain entirely. One bite into his lunch and it just melted on his tongue. He couldn’t even stop the moan coming out of his mouth if he tried, “Oh, oh my god.” His brain didn’t even pick up on the sounds of Gazelle choking on her food right next to him. He moaned around the second bite and casually looked over at her suddenly red face, “Are you okay?” he asked, not really caring about her answer because dear god, this food was fucking fantastic.

 Gazelle took a sip of water and breathed deeply, trying to calm her body, “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that you’re such a controlling asshole." she gasped, her hand slapped against her mouth. “I don’t know why I said that, oh god I’m so sorry!”

 Continuing his streak of not actually paying attention to Gazelle, Merlin pointed to his plate with his fork, “You should try this, it’s- it’s delectable, pleasant oh god mouth-watering…”

 “Why am I even with you?!” Gazelle said wistfully, not even looking at Merlin. “I’m, I’m amazing! Look at these legs! Look at how shiny my hair is! It shines like a diamond, Merlin!” She stood up and looked around the tiny restaurant. “And I hate this place!”, she laughed, completely carefree. She whirled around to face the older man again, “You’re a robot.” Her fingers dipped into the mashed potatoes on her plate and she laughed as she smeared it all over Merlin’s face. “You’ve never really cared about me and you’re basically a. Waste. Of. My. Time.”, she grinned foolishly, smearing more potatoes over his cheekbones with each word. Gazelle turned around again and looked at the stack of plates on a cart. Picking one up, she turned around to face the rest of the patrons, “These don’t even match!” she shouted gleefully, throwing the plate across the room and laughing when it burst into pieces.

 Everyone but Merlin jumped as Gazelle threw a few more plates across the restaurant. Merlin didn’t even look up from his plate, he was far too engrossed in the flavours exploding across his palate. He didn’t even start to take notice of his surroundings until well after Gazelle had stormed out and the young woman from the market stood next to his table with handfuls of broken plates.

 “Are you okay?” the young woman asked. “It seems like your girlfriend has a bit of a temper.”

 Merlin wiped his face on his napkin and looked towards the door that his now ex-girlfriend went through, “She’s not usually like that. It must be the curse of the fourth date.”

 The young woman stopped picking up the plate pieces, “The what?” she asked quietly.

 “Nothing. Just a theory I’m working on.” He pointed to the mess around him, “I am terribly sorry about this, I’ll replace everything, you can um, send me the bill, my name’s Merlin, by the way,” he blurted out as if it was one long word.

The young woman grinned, “Like the wizard?!”

 Merlin chuckled to himself, he had no idea why he didn’t give a shit about Gazelle leaving him and all he could think about was eating that meal again. He’d never been so enamoured with food before. His eyes drifted back over to the young woman’s, “Yes, like the wizard. What’s your name again?”

 “Roxanne, or Roxy,” Her smile looked like it could light up a small town.

 “Roxanne,” Merlin repeated dreamily, “like from Cyrano de Bergerac?”

 Roxy nodded happily, “Exactly.”

 -----

 Merlin ran up the stairs towards his office, Eggsy hot on his heels.

 “What the hell happened to you?!” Eggsy exclaimed in awe.

 “I had the most amazing lunch,” his grin became all lovesick-like.

 Eggsy took one look at Merlin’s potato covered face and asked the obvious question, “Did you actually get any in your gob?!”

 The older man looked down at his suit and tie in confusion, “What? No, this is Gazelle’s lunch.” he said matter of factly, like he thought Eggsy’s question was ridiculous.

 “So I guess she didn’t take it well?”

 “She completely flipped out, it was bizarre,” Merlin looked off into the distance, “but I find that I really don’t care.” They stopped on the stairs on the way to his office, “There were these crab things... _Oh fuck_ , were they heavenly.”

 Eggsy clutched the tablet in one hand and pressed the other against Merlin’s back, “Yeah well, you need to get cleaned the fuck up before that meeting.” They stopped again in front of a full length mirror.

 “Oh Christ, I’m a mess.” Merlin looked at the state of his suit. How did he not notice how insane he looked?

 Hip bumping Merlin out of the mirror, Eggsy started to tidy his appearance. His free hand smoothed out his hair and straightened his fit v-neck sweater, “You’re not the only one.” he remarked absently, making eye contact with Merlin in the mirror, “How do I look?”

 Merlin sighed, “Eggsy, it’s been two years! If Harry hasn’t noticed you yet, he’s probably never going to.” He was very tired of hearing his assistant groan about how in love he was with their boss, Harry Hart.

 Eggsy stuck out his tongue, “Fuck off, I look well fit in this. Besides, I can’t help it!” He beamed as they made their way up to Merlin’s office. “It’s those fucking hands!” he groaned, “I just want them all over me."

 “What have I said about bringing up Harry’s hands in my presence?!” Merlin shouted from his ensuite bathroom.

 “Oh but they’re _so_ big!” Eggsy moaned dramatically. He laughed hysterically while ducking to avoid the rolls of toilet paper being thrown at him.

 -----

 Merlin and Eggsy made their way down to the unfinished dining room, to meet with Harry. Merlin’s spine straightened when he saw the unhappy look on Harry’s face as the man was looking over blueprints.

 “Thank you so much for finally joining us,” Harry deadpanned.

 “Sorry we’re late, Harry-” Merlin started to say before Harry interrupted him.

 “Why have we spent 100,000 pounds on this floor that makes me nauseous?! It looks like something out of an old movie!” As if to make his point, Harry twisted the black and white design around in his hands, making a face at it.

 Merlin cleared his throat, “Trust me Harry, that’s the point. This dining room is going to be the grand stage for Harry’s! It’s all part of the image you wanted to create and it’s-”

 Eggsy pushed in front of Merlin and stood right next to Harry, “Think about it, this floor is setting the scene for the entire meal! It’s a work of art that will transform the diner’s experience from ordinary to extraordinary.” He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as for the first time ever, he had Harry’s full attention directed at him. “People will feel compelled to take a waltz on the ballroom floor, like Astaire and Rogers in Shall We Dance?. You’re creating an experience, Harry.” Eggsy felt like passing out when he saw the hint of a smile on Harry’s lips.

 “Well aren’t you full of surprises?” Harry smiled slyly.

 Merlin barely held in a scoff at Eggsy corresponding _giggle_ and rolled his eyes.  

 -----

 James heaved the grocery bags onto the counter in the surprisingly empty kitchen. He looked over at the prep table and his mouth instantly started to water at the sight of what he could only assume were caramel éclairs. “Well I’ll be damned.”, he whispered, grinning to himself.

 “Roxy? Where are you?” He called out.

 “Upstairs!”, Roxy shouted back down.

 James walked into Roxy’s room and stared at the growing pile of clothes on her bed. “What on earth are you doing?”

 “She’s getting tarted up to go buy plates!” Percival chuckled from the couch on the far side of the room, patting the spot next to him. James sat down and pecked his husband on the cheek.

 Roxy’s head appeared around the door of her wardrobe, “Oh piss off! It would be rude not to accept Merlin’s offer for new plates.”

 Each outfit she attempted to show them, got resounding “No’s”. She was starting to get frustrated, “What do I even talk to him about? You _know_ how my word vomit tends to get worse in the presence of handsome men!”

 James looked indignant, “You speak just fine in front of us!”

 Roxy poked her head out again, “My statement stands,” she deadpanned.

 Both James and Percival cupped their hands around their mouths and shouted, “Rude!”

 Ignoring them entirely, Roxy held out another dress, “How about this one?”

 “Ugh, burn it.”

 “You’re. Not. Helping!” she sighed in exasperation, “What do men even like?”

 “A man in a waistcoat.” James purred, his fingers dancing up Percy’s buttons. He leaned over and kissed at his husband’s blush.

 “A straight man, you tossers!” she said as she threw the dress at them.

 Percival batted away James’ wandering hands, “Merlin seemed posh, right? Why not wear that dress you wore for New Years! With mum’s pearls!”

 “Finally! A good suggestion! Thanks, Percy!”

 -----

 Roxy nervously straightened her [ dress](https://40.media.tumblr.com/12b670eebcdf9826e062ef6d2aa93ba7/tumblr_nsj31bgVbK1uquwvlo1_500.png), the pleats didn't seem to be straight enough and she was suddenly very concious of her arms. The dress had never caused her any issues before but with the possibility of seeing Merlin again, it felt as if the dress was either two sizes too big or two sizes too small.

 She wandered into the perfume portion of store and looked around nervously. The store was so out of her price range, she wanted to cry. Hugging her arms to her sides, she walked through the displays, carefully trying not to knock stuff over. She was so inside her own mind and so nervous, that she physically jumped when a store employee asked her if she was finding everything alright. Her sudden movement made her tip back into a display of boxes and the boxes flew everywhere.

 “Oh god, I should just leave,” she uttered to herself, her face the brightest red humanly possible.

 “It’s quite alright, Miss,” the employee tried to convince her.

 “Oh god, oh god.” Roxy kept repeating as she attempted to pick up the boxes. _This is why you don’t shop at these places!_ She looked up and felt her stomach drop as she noticed Merlin smiling at her from the balcony. _You’re fucking this up already._

 Merlin jogged down the steps and made his way over to Roxy. She looked so delightfully flustered and he couldn’t resist the massive smile that settled over his features. He nodded to the store clerk and guided Roxy away from the mess, “Don’t worry about that display, he’ll take care of it." Once they stood in front of each other again, Merlin felt something stirring in his stomach. _How could this woman have this kind of hold over him already?_ He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and smiled down at her again.

 “Good morning, Roxy.”

 Roxy’s eyes widened at how good her name sounded in his deep voice, “Um, hi, or I guess good morning, right? Oh god,” her face fell against her palm. She took a few steadying breaths and looked back up at Merlin, “Good morning, Merlin,” she smiled bashfully.

 Choosing to not mention the young woman’s obvious embarrassment, Merlin continued on, “Do you shop here often?”

 She shook her head, “No, I um, thought you’d offered to replace the plates?” she finished weakly, suddenly nervous that she’d misunderstood his offer.

 Merlin chuckled, “And I thought you’d send me the bill,” he teased.

 “I wanted to pick them out myself,” she said nervously but then quickly added, “Is that okay?”

 “Of course! Why don’t I take you up there?” his hand found her lower back and guided her towards the elevator.

The heat from his hand warmed through Roxy’s body. She was only half listening to him go on about a beautiful new line from Italy when she stopped herself from leaning into his hand. Being alone with him in an elevator, led her mind to all sorts of places. She inhaled deeply as the doors opened and stepped out quickly.

 As they walked towards the display shelves of plates, Merlin cleared his throat, “I do need to apologize for Gazelle’s behaviour the other day. It was so out of character for her.”

 A sense of _That’s Right, You’re Not Allowed To Have This_ settled over Roxy, “Is your girlfriend okay?” she asked meekly.

 “I’m sure she’s fine. But she’s not my girlfriend anymore.”

 Roxy’s entire disposition brightened. _Hope,_  “Oh, that’s shame,” she said with no real sadness in her voice.

 Merlin didn’t miss the lack of unhappiness in Roxy’s statement, he smiled to himself and let himself fall into work-mode and started to talk about each set of plates.

 After much consideration, Roxy started pointing at plate sets, “I’ll take eight of those, and eight of those and most definitely eight of those!”

 “Eight of each?!” Merlin sounded surprised.

 Roxy’s blush returned, “Oh god, that’s too many, I’m sorry I just-”

 Merlin interrupted her, “No, no, don’t worry. Helen?” he called out to a clerk, “Can you ring up eight of the Botanical Olive, eight of the Heirloom Royal Anacanthus and eight of the Flor Azu? And then I’ll sign the bill.”

 “Thank you so much, Merlin.”

 “You are most welcome.” he grinned, guiding her back to the elevator. “And if I may, that’s quite the bold plate selection. It explains the dress,” he said casually.

 Roxy looked down at her dress and then back up at Merlin, “Excuse me?”

 Merlin realized his misstep immediately and tried to fix it, “It’s a bold choice. You look lovely? Yes, you look lovely,” he blurted out.

 Pursing her lips in amusement, Roxy grinned, “Someone whose word vomit rivals my own?”

 “Word vomit?”

 Roxy sighed, “Yeah, you know when your brain kind of goes on autopilot and nonsense just comes out?”

Merlin looked at her seriously, “I wouldn’t say calling you lovely constitutes nonsense.”

“Twice,” Roxy mumbled as Merlin stared at her in confusion, “you called me lovely twice.” Her eyes widened. _Oh fuck_. “I mean, don’t worry about it? It happens to me all the time,” she joked, trying to sound cavalier but failing spectacularly. “But it usually only happens in front of men I find handsome,” her eyes widened again. _FOR FUCKS SAKES, MORTON!_ She looked up at Merlin’s shit eating grin and sighed in defeat.

“So you think I’m handsome?”

“Oh my god, can you please show me the way out of this disastrous conversation?” she whined quietly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Merlin laughed and gestured dramatically to the elevators, “Ah yes, the Cop Out Department is just over here!” he teased, “I’ll see you out.” He started to walk towards the elevator and turned around to make sure Roxy followed him.

Once the doors shut, Roxy just stared at her reflection in the elevator’s doors; she was feeling so embarrassed that she didn’t even want to take the chance to start a conversation with Merlin again. Her eyes drifted to her purse and she remembered the other reason why she sought him out, “Your lunch yesterday actually came with dessert.” she said quickly, thrusting a box of caramel éclairs at the man.

“Well thank goodness you don’t think I’m handsome, or else I might be inclined to think that you’re flirting with me by using your food,” he grinned, opening up the box and inhaling the sweet scent.

Roxy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “I thought you said we were going to the Cop Out Department. Liar,” she teased. She watched Merlin take a bite of the éclair and her knees almost gave out as he actually moaned, the sound echoing in the elevator, “Are they okay?” she asked nervously.

“Roxy...oh my god...these are just-” Merlin moaned again as he stuffed another one into his mouth.

The elevator doors pinged open and an employee stepped into the elevator, only to be shoved back out of it, while Merlin shouted, “Nope!” The doors closed again as he ate his third éclair. He looked over at Roxy, “Change of plans,” he mumbled out, his mouth still full of what could basically be described as heaven.

Clutching her purse a bit tighter, she looked over at the older man, with concern in her eyes, “Are you okay?”

Merlin laughed, “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m great! Oh my god, these are good!”

Roxy bit her lip and wondered if she needed to call someone about him, “So, where are we going?”

The elevator doors pinged open and Merlin grabbed Roxy’s hand, “I want to show you something!” he said excitedly, pulling her behind him.

They came to a stop in front of a set of frosted glass doors that said _Harry’s_ in swirling script. “You’re a chef, you’re gonna love this!” Merlin pushed open the huge doors and led Roxy down onto the dance floor, almost twirling her around as he pointed out different things about the nearly-finished restaurant.

“This is going to be incredible!” she whispered in awe. Not even in her wildest dreams did she entertain the idea of being able to cook, let alone eat in a place like that.

Merlin nodded distractedly, finally emptying out the box of éclairs, “It will be, but not nearly as incredible as these puffy pillows of deliciousness.” he held up the last éclair in adoration before popping it into his mouth.

Roxy huffed out a laugh, “Seriously?” she shook her head at Merlin’s mumbled agreement, “I think you’re absolutely ridiculous.”

 Swallowing the last of the éclair, Merlin felt some clarity in his foggy brain. He stepped closer to Roxy and let his hands rest over her small shoulders, “No.” he said quietly, staring into her eyes. “There’s just something about you, I’m certain of it,” his hands slid down until his fingers could wrap around Roxy’s wrists.

 They were all alone in the unfinished restaurant, but Roxy had never felt so crowded in her life. Looking into Merlin’s grey/green eyes and having the weight of his attention was so overwhelming. She unconsciously took a step forward, bringing her body so close to his that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. She sucked in her bottom lip to wet it as it had suddenly gotten so dry in the massive room. Her blush deepening when she noticed Merlin’s eyes tracking the motion.

 Harry walked into the restaurant and stalled immediately, upon seeing Merlin and some young woman staring intently at each other. Merlin was supposed to be meeting with investors, not obviously lusting after a girl, “Am I interrupting something?” he asked loudly.

 Neither Merlin or the young woman moved.

 “Hello?!”

 His voice was apparently falling on deaf ears, “Oh for Christ’s sake! MERLIN!”

 Merlin jumped away from Roxy and looked at Harry in confusion.

 “The Gellar group is here for a bloody tour!” Harry hissed.

 Merlin blinked slowly, as if coming out of a daze, “Right, um, just give me a moment.”

 Harry glared at him but then sighed in resignation and walked away.

 Merlin turned to face Roxy again, “Allow me to see you out,” he said softly.

 Roxy shook her head, “Don’t be silly. I’ll find my own way out. Go be businessy.”

 “Businessy?” Merlin cocked an eyebrow.

 “ _Oh my god_ , goodbye Merlin.” Roxy waved sarcastically.

 He chuckled quietly, “Goodbye Roxy, I’ll call you.”

 Roxy’s voice got higher, “You will?!”

 “Of course,” Merlin said softly, smiling at her warmly.

\-----

Business had picked up tenfold at the restaurant, Roxy no longer went to the market alone, she had to take both James and Percy with her, in order to carry all the things they’d need. The house was packed daily and everyone was starting to feel truly run off their feet. It was tiring but it at the same time, it was nice to be on a bit of a hot streak.

 Roxy looked out the porthole window to the dining room. Percy was manning both the bar and the restaurant and he looked exhausted. Roxy sighed and turned around to see James’ chest.

 The older man leaned down to look through the window, “We really need to hire someone else, it’s too much for just Percy alone.”

 She nodded and walked back towards her prep table. They’d just sent out the last of the lunch dishes and had a few spare moments to breathe.

 “He said he’d call.” she said dejectedly.

 James walked up beside her and wrapped a long arm around her shoulders, “So...are you going to call him then?”

 “No. Why?” she added defensively.

 A smug sound came out of James’ mouth as he pulled out his phone and dialled. He put it on speakerphone as it rang.

_“Kingsman Department Store. How may I direct your call?”_

 Roxy squeaked and lunged for the phone, only to have James lift it up far too high for her to reach.

 “Yes, hello,” James said in his poshest voice. “I’m looking for Merlin?”

  _“Of course sir, one moment please.”_

 ----

 Merlin tilted back in his comfy office chair, his feet up on the desk. He kept replaying the last time he'd seen Roxy, in his mind. She had looked stunning and all he could focus on was how she smelled like vanilla orchids. Her deep brown eyes seemed like endless little pools of milk chocolate and he had to physically fight the urge to lick her, to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. He let his eyes drift shut, letting the overwhelming memories come to life behind his eyelids.

 “Napping instead of meeting with the investors? I wish I’d have thought of that,” Harry said sarcastically, shooting Merlin an unhappy glance.

 Snapping his chair back upright, Merlin apologized profusely, “Oh god, I can’t believe I forgot, Harry.” He ran his hands over his smooth head, “This restaurant has just overtaken my brain. And the menu requests your grandmother keeps making are absurd. It’d be impossible to have everything she wanted! So much of it isn’t even in season.” He threw up his hands and turned in his chair to face Harry.

 “I’m actually glad you brought her up. I’m struggling with her. She wants to make sure I have a date on my arm for the grand opening.”

 “What’s wrong with that? Weren’t you seeing, um...Sam? What happened to him?”

 Harry sighed dramatically, “He was too dramatic and he had to gall to call me ‘Old man’”

 Merlin took a sip of his cold coffee and made a face, “Well, he was high-maintenance and stupid. Ignore him.”

 Harry flopped down on the couch, “I want to but what if it’s too late for me? What if I’m destined to be with a grumpy old bugger like myself?”

 “I don’t know how you’d stand it. Two of you? I’ll pass, thanks.”

 Glaring at the other man, Harry softened a bit and shut his eyes, “What are the odds that there is someone out there who wants me as I am? And not ten years younger or with slightly fewer wrinkles.”

 Both men looked up as Eggsy tripped on his way into the room with Merlin’s tea tray. Merlin rolled his eyes at Eggsy’s obvious blush and he assumed right away that Eggsy had heard everything that Harry had said.

“Oh, sorry Harry! I didn’t know you’d be here. Want me to fetch you a cup?” he asked breathlessly.

 Harry waved him off, “No, no. I need to get back to my office. Thank you though,” the older man said, standing and walking out of the office.

 Eggsy watched Harry walk away and felt a piece of himself die inside, “Fuck. I’m a goner for that man.”

 Merlin patted Eggsy’s shoulder, I’m sorry Eggsy. I’ve been telling you that he’s thick as a brick when it comes to stuff like this.”

 “I know,” Eggsy sighed, collapsing into a chair, “I just didn’t want to believe you.”

 Both men grabbed their respective tablets and started to get to work. Eggsy was organizing Merlin’s schedule for the next month and Merlin was looking over projections for the restaurant. The office was silent with the exception of the odd few beeps and swish sounds from the tablets.

 Tucking his feet under himself on the chair, Eggsy put his tablet down and stared at Merlin.

 It took a few moments but Merlin finally felt Eggsy’s stare. He looked over at the young man and raised his eyebrows, “What?”

 “Oh...well do you know that there’s a juicy rumour going around about you?” he puckered his lips dramatically, but once he saw Merlin’s less-that-pleased look, he straightened himself out a bit, “I’ve been trying to stop it though.”

 Going back to his work, Merlin nodded his appreciation.

 Not happy with Merlin’s lack of intrigue into the rumour, Eggsy put his tablet down on the side table and clasped his hands together, “Don’t you want to know what it’s about?”. He looked over at the other man expectantly, “Fine!” he huffed dramatically, “You’ve _dragged_ it out of me! It’s about you and a young woman eye-fucking each other in the restaurant. Right in the middle of the construction.”

 That got Merlin’s attention, “Eye-fucking? Seriously?!” he said in disgust.

 Eggsy held up his hands in surrender, “Hey, I didn’t start it, bruv!”

 Merlin threw his tablet on the couch, “Look, it wasn’t something crass like _eye-fucking_ , it was- Wait, what have I said about you calling me ‘bruv’?! I’m your boss, Eggsy!”

 Smugly, Eggsy saluted Merlin, “Whatever you say, guv,” and he winked. He ignored Merlin’s glare and carried on, “What’s her name anyways?”

 The intercom buzzed in, “Roxy Morton is on line one, sir.”

 Both men looked at each other, Merlin’s face flushed while Eggsy’s shit eating grin spread madly, “Answer it!” Eggsy hissed excitedly.

 Merlin groaned and picked up the phone.

 “Hi, Merlin?”

 “Hello, Roxy.”

 “I uh, was wondering if you wanted to come over and god, okay not _come over_ , but come to the restaurant for dinner?”

 Merlin hummed before responding, “Let me have a look at my schedule.”

 Eggsy pressed a few buttons and brought up Merlin’s schedule on the big screen beside them. His last meeting was to be at 3pm, Eggsy’s smile brightened and he pointed to the big empty evening slot.

 Merlin’s eyes barely flicked over the screen before he’d continued speaking to Roxy, “Damn, it looks as though I’ve got a dinner meeting at 8.”

 Pointing even more dramatically at the screen, Eggsy hissed, “No you fucking don’t!”

 “Right,” Roxy sounded disappointed, “well, another time then. Um, but I’ll be here late if you want to stop by later?”

 “As long as it’s not too late, of course.” Merlin smoothed out his sweater front, needing to keep his hands busy.

 “Okay. Okay, bye Merlin.”

 “Goodbye Roxy.” Merlin put the phone back down on the receiver and let his head fall into his hands.

 "Why did you turn her down?!"

 "My focus needs to be on the restaurant and not some crush. I need some space to think more clearly."

 Eggsy just gaped at him, “And you think Harry is a lost fucking cause?! Mate, you are mental.”

 Merlin groaned loudly. He hated when Eggsy was right.

 ----

 That night had been the busiest one yet, at the tiny restaurant. Both Roxy and James were in the dining room, drinking vodka (on the rocks) and counting tip money. They were exhausted but something about the vodka was making James excitable.

“Why are we sitting in here? We should be out celebrating! Let’s go dancing!” he started to wave his arms and wiggle his waist as he sat in the chair.

 They both heard Percival suddenly shout, “NO, JAMES.” from upstairs.

 Roxy laughed heartily and had to hug her sides, “You are a terrible dancer! I can’t be associated with your dance skills in public.”

 James pouted, “Fine. I’ll just go _celebrate_ with my husband,” he said smugly. He got up, kissed Roxy’s head and made his way upstairs.

 She rolled her eyes and made her way into the kitchen to grab her purse. She was trying not to be too disappointed about Merlin. But it was hard; it was nearly midnight and she hadn’t heard one word from him. Roxy grabbed her things and made her way outside to lock up the restaurant. Sure, she could’ve easily just gone up the stairs in the kitchen, but she wanted to leave James and Percival alone for a bit. The set up for their flat was unusual but it worked for them. The outside entrance would take her to the more common areas of the flat, mainly the living room and kitchen. All of the bedrooms were above the kitchen and judging by James’ enthusiasm, she was better off on the other side of the flat, away from the bedrooms.

 Roxy had pulled the key out from the lock when she heard a soft cough behind her. She whipped around, ready to fight off a mugger but was met with a sheepish looking Merlin, holding a potted vanilla orchid.

 “Hi,” she said flatly.

 Merlin let out a breath, “Hi.”

 “It’s pretty late.”

 “I know, the uh meeting just didn’t want to end. I’m sorry.”

 Roxy raised an eyebrow, “Right, the _meeting_.”

 “I brought this as an apology gift,” Merlin smiled weakly, offering Roxy the potted plant. “They’re van-”

 “Vanilla orchids,” Roxy couldn’t help but smile, “They’re pretty hard to come by here.” She leaned forward to smell the blossoms, a warmth spread throughout her body at the intoxicating scent. Reluctantly, she pulled back and noticed Merlin’s curious expression, “What?”

 Merlin shook his head while grinning, “Nothing.” He handed the plant to Roxy, “May I walk you home?”

Hugging the plant to her body, Roxy nodded. They took all of five steps before she stopped in front of her door, “Um, thank you?” she blushed.

 Confused, Merlin looked up at door and then down at Roxy, “Oh! Okay. So, I guess this means goodnight?”

 Roxy made a show of deliberating it in her head, “Well, I guess we could pretend we had dinner and then just call it a night right now…”

 Merlin caught on immediately, “But did we have dessert after our pretend dinner? Because I’m still hungry and if you knew a place that was open, I’d love to get some dessert.”

 The heat from Merlin’s expression was melting any willpower Roxy had. She stuck out her tongue playfully and walked past him to open the restaurant door. She guided him into the kitchen and put the plant down on her prep table, “So what was your meeting about?”

 He hesitated as he took off his coat, “I lied,” Merlin paused, waiting to get thrown out. When Roxy only stared at him, as if waiting for an explanation, he continued. “there was no meeting. I don’t know why I lied about it in the first place and I sure as hell don’t know why I’m telling you now.” He ran his hand over his head, “I guess it’s because I am genuinely sorry.” Merlin looked back up at Roxy, hopeful for a second chance.

 She shut her eyes and sighed deeply. “I was mad, but then you waltzed in here in that waistcoat and-” Roxy let her eyes drift back over to the fitted navy waistcoat around Merlin’s body.

 “And?” he prompted.

 Roxy looked up in a panic, her blush spreading across her cheeks like wildfire, “And apology accepted.” She shoved her face into the fridge as she grabbed a sauce pot and a cake. Roxy avoided Merlin’s gaze as she walked around to the front of the stove, "But don't let it happen again."

 “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” he said softly, sitting at the small wooden table across from the stove.

 She hazarded a glance up at the older man as she started to stir the sauce. She couldn’t help her shy smile, never in her life had she gotten the attention she was getting from Merlin. The man was gorgeous and kind and funny and obviously successful and _oh god, this wasn’t just a crush anymore, was it?_ Roxy leaned over to her prep table and picked off a couple of the vanilla orchid blossoms. She dropped them, one by one into the sweet sauce, stirring it gently.

 The smell from the blossoms wafted over to Merlin and he inhaled deeply. That smell was like coming home. He shut his eyes as he let the feeling wash over him. Never in his life had he been this entranced by someone. He knew her cooking had something to do with it, but Roxy was turning out to be so much more than he thought possible. He opened his eyes and was instantly mesmerized by the way Roxy looked. The lighting in the kitchen seemed impossibly soft and her warm eyes kept flicking over to his. He let his eyes wander over her slender neck and those biteable collarbones peaking out from underneath her blousy shirt. He stood up abruptly. Staring at her wasn’t enough anymore.

 Roxy looked up at Merlin nervously, he’d gotten up so fast that the stool had nearly fallen over. Her eyes widened as he slowly walked right into her space. She shifted away from the stove and faced Merlin. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something embarrassing during a suddenly heated moment.

 Merlin looked at her hungrily, “May I kiss you?” His eyes traced over each of her features he wanted to taste and he was struggling with which one he wanted to kiss first. All it took was a slight nod from Roxy and Merlin dove in like a man possessed. His lips found her cheek first, it was a burst of sweetness. He moved on to the side of her eye and found that it tasted spicy, “Incredible,” he whispered, tilting her face up to meet his, “you taste amazing,” he uttered before closing the gap between their mouths.

 A whimper left Roxy’s lips as Merlin kissed her passionately. Her hands slid up the chest she had had so many dirty thoughts about and her arms wrapped around his neck. She licked at his bottom lip and he took that as his cue to devour her. His hands made their way down to Roxy’s waist and before she knew it, she was hoisted up onto the wooden prep table.

 The movement obviously broke the kiss and Merlin grinned as he nuzzled into Roxy’s neck, “I did want to continue but-”

 “If you call me short, you’ll be in big trouble,” she said in mock anger.

 Merlin brought his head back up and shook it, “Of course not. I was going to say that I wanted to continue, but rather like this,” he grasped her thighs and pulled her right to the edge of the table, so that their bodies were slotted together.

 Roxy moaned a little at the sudden movement and then mewled when she _felt_ why Merlin wanted to continue in that position. Her arms wrapped back around his neck and now she was the one doing the devouring.

 He tightened his grip on her waist and struggled to stop himself from grinding up against her. The room was unbearably hot and all he wanted was to take her, right there, right then. He pulled back and then dove back in to start kissing her neck. He groaned when he felt Roxy’s hands slide up the back of his neck to rest on his head.

 A loud cough brought them apart from each other instantly.

 Roxy looked over at a smug-looking James, leaning against the doorframe, in Percival’s housecoat. Her gaze turned fiery, “What are you doing here?!” she hissed, “Go away!”

 James straightened out and grinned while pointing at Merlin, “What did I say about waistcoats?” he teased. Then he laughed and ran up the stairs quickly, to avoid being hit with a pot lid that heavily clanked to the ground behind him.

 -----

Walking up the stairs towards his office, Merlin tried to not look so blissfully happy but his smile kept coming back. Last night with Roxy had been...just incredible. She was more than a breath of fresh air. She made him want to enjoy life again, to actually take a weekend off and just go to a park or something ridiculous like that. And he wanted to experience it all with her. He knew that if he were to pass by a rose bush, he’d have no qualms about stopping to smell them. Which, even in his deliriously happy state, he knew it was so out of character for himself.

But he didn’t care. For once in his adult life, he was genuinely happy.

As always, it was never meant to stay that way.

Eggsy nearly pounced on Merlin as he turned the corner, “There’s a problem, bruv!”

Merlin patted Eggsy on the shoulder and smiled at the young man, “Trust me Eggsy, it can’t be that bad.”

Sighing, Eggsy stood in front of Merlin to get his undivided attention, “Merlin, Chef Rossi won’t work. He refuses to come in!”

 _There it is._ “Why the fuck not?” Merlin narrowed his gaze.

Eggsy started typing on his tablet quickly, “Air France lost his fucking knives!”

“Well then, get him some new knives, any knives! Just handle it, Eggsy.”

“Mate. Listen to me,” Eggsy looked at Merlin fiercely, “he doesn’t want new knives. He wants _his_ knives.”

“No one quits over knives, Eggsy.”

Eggsy threw his head back and held in a shout, “What the fuck do you want me to do, Merlin?! He’s threatening to walk out and we’re set to open in a week!”

“Then start harassing Air France, I don’t care. Just make it happen,” Merlin said angrily.

He walked away from his assistant and attempted to tamp down on his urge to punch a hole through the wall. It was costing them a small fortune to have Rossi there and the man was far too temperamental to be worth it at this point. Merlin walked a loop around the floor he was on to try and calm himself down. When he got to where he’d started, he noticed Eggsy crouched down and clutching his tablet as he spoke to someone on his earpiece. The young man looked up and made eye contact with Merlin. A quick nod was all it took for Merlin to know that Eggsy had managed to fix the unfixable issue with Rossi. Merlin mouthed ‘thank you’ and then made a gesture for ‘I’ll buy you a beer later’.

 Eggsy grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

 Merlin exhaled loudly and decided another lap around the store would be good for his mood. By the time he got to the linen department, his nose picked up a faint scent. He calmly looked around to see if someone had some sort of food nearby. When there were no obvious culprits, he started to wander around each level, feeling more and more ridiculous about searching for food like a bloody dog; but the closer he got, the more he started to realize that the smell was something from Roxy’s restaurant. _Oh god, the éclairs_ . He _definitely_ did not run down the stairs into the accessories department and he _certainly_ didn’t accost an elderly woman and her husband and he _absolutely_ didn’t make up a store policy on the spot that allowed him to confiscate the box of éclairs. No, that would’ve been incredibly unprofessional.

 Which is why he ended up staring at his desperate looking reflection in the elevator doors.

“What is happening to me?” he uttered in awe.

 He rushed into his office and set the near empty box down. He needed to walk away for a moment, he needed some distance; so he walked into his ensuite bathroom and shut the door.

 Eggsy popped his head into the office and noticed that Merlin was absent but the éclair box he’d seen the man hoarding, was left defenceless on the desk. He tried not to make any sound that would alert Merlin to his presence, but the second his fingers closed around the tip of the éclair, Merlin came out of the bathroom. Eggsy darted around to the front of the desk, grinning madly with his prize. He ignored Merlin’s childish pout, “You need to learn to share, Merls!” He bit down into the pastry and it was as if his world had been black and white and was suddenly filled with colours, “Oh holy fuck!” he moaned, “these are so good! No, wait, these are kind of incredible!” He licked off his fingers and threw his head back in ecstasy, “Do you have any more?” he whined.

 “No. You arse. That was the last one.”

 Eggsy slid his hands across the desk as if he was trying to hug it. His next moan fogged up the glass, “Where are these from?! Oh my god!”

 Merlin looked down at his own hands, “I mugged a seventy-five year old woman for these. What is happening to me?” he repeated to himself. A drawn out moan brought his attention back to his young assistant, writhing in an arm chair.

 “Oh fuck, I wish Harry was here,” Eggsy groaned, “I’d let him put those big hands every-”

 “No. Stop it,” Merlin glowered, “Help me with my Roxy issue!” he huffed, walking towards the couch and collapsing on it. “I can’t stop thinking about her! She’s beautiful and funny and- and so talented in the kitchen! I mean, her food is starting to drive me mad!”

 Eggsy managed to stop rubbing his body up against the chair and flopped down next to Merlin, “I think this is it, Merlin. You know you. You best run because it’s not even your third date and we’re already having to have this conversation.”

 “I don’t even like dessert!” the older man threw up his hands in exasperation.

 “I’m sure she’s a lovely girl, Merls, but you better walk away now before you really hurt her.”

 Merlin started to shake his head, “I can’t go out with her again.”

 “Nope,” Eggsy leaned over to grab the phone off the side table.

 “I should do it in person.”

 Sighing deeply, Eggsy put the phone back on the table, “No. Worst idea ever.”

 Merlin stood up quickly, “No, no, I can do this!” and left his office.

 Eggsy couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling, even if he wanted to. He took a quick look at the empty éclair box and decided to do something drastic. dialling the number on the box, he grinned to himself as he started putting his plan together.

 “Hi, yes, I was wondering if I could order several boxes of those caramel éclair thingys?”

 -----

 Eggsy stood in the elevator patiently, although he stopped himself from bouncing on his heels while he waited for the doors to open. His heart raced as the familiar ping sounded and the shiny doors parted, presenting one, serious-looking, Harry Hart.

 Harry nodded at Eggsy, “Good morning, Eggsy.”

 “Good morning, Harry!” he beamed foolishly and pulled the éclair box out from behind his back, “Would you like an éclair, Harry?”

 It was far too early in the morning to even consider such a sweet thing. Harry shook his head, “No thank you.”

 “Are you sure? They’re really good.”

 “I’m quite sure, thank you.”

 Eggsy shrugged nonchalantly, “Suit yourself!” He opened the box and admittedly put on a bit of a show as he ate it. Moaning lightly and making sure to look like he was in heaven. After he licked his fingers, he looked back up at Harry and was very happy to note the blush rising on the older man’s cheeks and how his pupils had dilated to a ridiculous degree.  

 Harry tried to clear his throat, “Well, one couldn’t hurt, right?” he said quietly, reaching for the box.

 The next thing Eggsy knew, he was shoved up against the (now stopped) elevator wall with one leg wrapped around Harry’s waist and the other failing to find purchase on the floor. Harry’s thigh was pressed up in between his legs and the older man was making himself very familiar with Eggsy’s neck. Eggsy’s hands ran over Harry’s back as the man soon panted into his mouth.

 Closing the distance between their mouths, Harry kissed Eggsy soundly, their lips and tongues moving in tandem. When Eggsy moaned away from the kiss, Harry had to fight the chill that ran down his spine. How on earth had he missed all the signals this delicious creature had been sending?

 Eggsy’s mouth crashed against his again, “Oh, Harry, I’ve been wantin’ this for so long,” he moaned in between kisses.

 Harry pulled back slightly and looked down at the boy’s kiss swollen lips and then up to the heat in his eyes. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and nosed around Eggsy’s jaw, “I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” he murmured against Eggsy’s skin, pressing feather light kisses along his cheeks.

 -----

 Roxy had just locked up the restaurant when she felt a presence behind her, “You really need to stop coming by so late,” she teased, turning around to face Merlin, “I’d like to get to bed at a decent hour.”

 “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve already eaten,” he couldn’t fight the warm smile that broke out on his face. One sentence in and he knew he wasn’t going to handle this well.

 “Was it éclairs by any chance? Someone from the store stopped by earlier and bought them all.”

 Merlin chuckled, “That was probably my assistant. He was mad when he only got to try one.”

 Roxy leaned into his space and looked up at him, “Would you like to walk me home?” she whispered.

 His will to be strong and to break it off immediately was waning. He found his hands moving of their own accord to bring Roxy’s back closer to his front and then he automatically tipped his head forward to kiss her behind the ear. Merlin screwed his eyes shut at the shiver he felt run through Roxy. _I’m a weak, hopeless bastard._ He kissed her again and started to walk them towards her door.

 All of three steps later, Roxy turned around in his arms, her hands resting on his chest, “Do you want to come up for a drink?”

 Merlin’s traitorous body was already taking the keys from Roxy’s hands to open the door, before he’d even said a word. He would _not_ be telling Eggsy that he was right. Doing it in person was the worst idea he’d ever had. He couldn’t stop placing open mouthed-kisses anywhere he could reach until she’d giggled and playfully pushed him back so she could take off her coat.

 “I need to be in bed at a decent hour, Merlin. I’m serious,” she said with the hint of a smirk on her lips as she sashayed into the kitchen. “Is wine okay?” she called out.

 “Of course, thank you,” he called back, trying not to slump on the couch but his body felt so heavy and he couldn’t resist.

 Roxy poured them each a glass of red wine and she snuggled up to Merlin’s side. They sat in silence for quite some time; Roxy would try to start a conversation but it never got much further than a few sentences. Merlin had been so affectionate and now he was the complete opposite. He hadn’t even had a sip of his wine, it was still in his hand, resting on his thigh and had been for the past fifteen minutes. Roxy inhaled deeply and decided to question him, “You’ve been awfully quiet tonight…”

 Merlin sighed, _just do it,_ “I’m... just having trouble coming to terms with how I feel about you.”

 She lifted Merlin’s arm off of her shoulders and sat up to stare at him, “What does that mean?”

  _It was now or never, old sport ,_  “It’s as if I can’t control myself when I’m around you. It’s just, god, it’s as if I actually have no authority in my body. Do you know that I illegitimately confiscated a box of your éclairs from an old woman today?!” His voice started to shake, “I become this, this whole other person when I’m with you and I don’t understand what’s happening to me!”

 Roxy pushed herself further away from him, ignoring the look of mild pain in Merlin’s eyes, “Are you actually angry about this?”

 Merlin set the glass down on the table, “No. Yes?” he faltered, “I don’t like not being in control of myself and that’s how I feel when I’m around you.”

 She looked away from him and bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears, “You should just go,” she choked out.

 He stood slowly and made the heart wrenching mistake of looking at her, “Roxy, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

 “She said you should go,” Percival’s deep voice echoed in the small living room. His tone brooked no argument and his eyes never moved off of Merlin until the man was down the stairs and out the door. He walked over to Roxy’s slumped over form and pulled her body towards his, until she gave in and hugged him tightly. He felt her shoulders start to shake, without even thinking, he started to trace her name on her back. It was something their mum had always done and it had always worked to calm them down. It was as if once they stopped crying long enough to notice the pattern, they focussed on that, instead of how sad or hurt they were.

 Roxy clutched Percy’s robe tightly, how _dare_ Merlin act like this was somehow her fault! Everything about their relationship had been wonderful albeit a little surprising at times but still; how on earth could she have _that_ much power over him? She took a couple deep breaths and focussed on Percy’s hands tracing her name onto her back. She suddenly really missed her mum, but Percy and James had been there for her just as her mum would’ve been too. She pulled her face away from Percy’s chest only to rest it on his shoulder, “I love you, Perce.”

 He kissed the top of her head, “I love you too, Pop Rox,” he stopped tracing her name and pushed her up to face him, “You just say the word, and we’ll have him killed, okay?”

 A laugh bubbled out of Roxy’s throat, “Oh? And who would be doing the killing?”

 “James, of course. You’ve seen him with a knife!”

 “Quit hiring me out as an assassin, Percy!” James shouted from the bedroom.

 “Quit looking good in black turtlenecks, then!” he shouted back.

 -----

 Merlin sat at his desk, fidgeting with his Newton’s Cradle, pushing the metal balls back and forth, using the sound to centre himself. He hadn’t gone home after he broke up with Roxy. He’d now been living in his office for three days. Thankfully, no one else was in over the weekend so no one bothered him and his disastrous office. Nothing was organised, there were papers everywhere and the model for the restaurant was in several different parts of the room. Yet, Merlin felt at home in the chaos of his office.

 There was a small knock on the door and Merlin immediately sat up, alert and ready for action, “Who is it?!”

 Eggsy’s voice filtered through the door, “It’s me, bruv.” He pushed his way into the office and immediately took a step back into the hallway. The smell of hot sleep permeated the room, papers were strewn across the floor and Merlin looked like he hadn’t truly slept all weekend, “What the fuck is happening in here?!” he exclaimed wildly, “Mate, you ain’t okay.”

Merlin stood up abruptly and began pacing around the office, “It’s not me, it’s her!”

 The look of concern fell off of Eggsy’s face and morphed into a wide grin, “Aww you succumbed, fuck! I knew it!”

 “I did NOT succumb! She’s- she’s-” he pointed angrily at Eggsy.

 “Got you under her spell?” Eggsy sang while laughing.

 “Not. Funny.”

 “ _That ‘ol black magic…_ ”

 “EGGSY!”

 Eggsy shook his head and laughed again, “Oh give over! You’re in love!”

 Merlin spun around to face him, “I am most certainly _not_ in love. I should’ve stuck to the bloody rules.”

 “Your rules don’t make you happy, bruv,” Eggsy said seriously, sitting on the edge of the desk.

 “And what makes you think I could’ve stayed happy with her?” Merlin asked, facing away from  his young assistant.

 “Are you even gonna give her a chance, Merlin?” Eggsy asked quietly.

 Merlin stood stock still, unable to answer Eggsy.

 “Yeah...are you?” Roxy’s meek voice broke the silence.

 Eggsy brightened up immediately as Merlin turned around to face them both, “You must be Roxy!” Eggsy exclaimed happily as he shook her hand, “I’m this cranky bugger’s assistant, Eggsy, annnnd I’m also leaving!” Eggsy tried to move past the woman but Merlin’s hand yanked him back.

 “No, you’re staying. She can leave.”

 Roxy sighed and looked at her shoes, “It’s okay, I know the last few days have been...odd. But my whole life was ordinary and then we met and these amazing things started to happen-”, she paused to stop her voice from shaking, “-but I can’t explain them and I know it bothers you,” she looked up into Merlin’s eyes, “for the first time, I feel like I can do anything and… I don’t know if I need you to keep that feeling, but I know that I want you.”

 Merlin felt like his heart had been ripped out, everything she said had been true and he couldn’t gather his emotions enough to explain it to her, “Roxy, I think that-”

“No, Merlin. How do you feel?” Roxy’s lip started to quiver.

 He ran his hands over his head and exhaled sharply, “I’m not sure, Rox. I’m not-”

 Chef Rossi stormed into the room brandishing a knife, “THIS IS NOT A KNIFE!” he screamed, throwing the knife at Merlin’s large screen.

 “Oh what the hell?!” Merlin shouted.

 “I spit on your knife! I spit on your restaurant! I fire you!”

 Merlin laughed incredulously, “You can’t fire me! I FIRE YOU!”

 Chef Rossi gave him a two-finger salute, “Au revoir, dickhead!” and stormed out of the office.

 Eggsy laughed, “He called you a dickhead!”

 Merlin shouted after Rossi, “You can’t bloody leave! You’re under contract! Oh, for fucks sakes!”

 Harry stormed into the office, “Merlin! I just ran into Rossi! What in fresh hell did you do?! What’s your big plan now that we no longer have a bloody chef?! he gestured wildly, brushing up against Roxy, “Sorry, I’m sorry.”

 “I was just leaving,” Roxy said quietly.

 Darting out to grab her sleeve, Eggsy pleaded with her, “No, no you can’t go! Harry!” he hauled Roxy in front of Harry, “This is Roxy Morton.”

 “Lovely to meet you,” he said, with no real interest and whirled around to face Merlin.

 “Harry!” Eggsy yanked the older man back around, “This is Roxy.  She made those éclairs, babe.”

 “Babe?” Merlin uttered in confusion.

 Harry’s expression went from extremely pissed off to insanely delighted. He grasped Rosy by her shoulders and smiled widely, “Merlin! You genius! you got rid of that french bastard and brought in this heavenly creature!” Harry, in his excitement, wouldn’t let anyone else speak, “Do you only do desserts? Or is everything else like those _wonderful_ éclairs?” his gaze travelled to Eggsy pointedly for all of a second. He patted Roxy’s shoulders, “I’ve decided! You’re cooking!”

 Merlin’s jaw dropped, “What?! No!”

 Roxy peered around Harry’s tall body, “And why not?!”

He gestured at Roxy, “You think you can just replace a four star chef with over 23 years experience?! No, no. This isn’t fucking happening.” Merlin crossed his arms angrily.

 She rolled her eyes, “Well, Harry here believes in me!”

 Harry bent over slightly to look her in the eye, “Can you do this job?”

 “Yes,” Roxy said proudly.

 “No!” Merlin shouted.

 “YES!” Roxy and Eggsy shouted back.

 “Thank you, Eggsy, darling,” Harry said calmly, only raising an eyebrow to Merlin’s squawk of indignation, “please take Roxy down to the kitchen. I need to have a few words with Merlin.”

 “Fucking spectacular!” Merlin cried out as he threw up his hands.

 Harry pulled Eggsy back as he and Roxy were almost out the door, “Once I’m done with Merlin, was can discuss that, um _thing_ in my office.”

 Eggsy winked at the man, “Whatever you say, Mister Hart! You’re the boss!” he added a little salute.

 As he leaned in to nip at Eggsy’s ear lobe, Harry chuckled darkly, “And don’t you forget it.” He swatted Eggsy’s arse as the young man all but skipped out of the room.

 -----

 Eggsy pushed open the door to the restaurant and ushered Roxy in. They walked over to the kitchen doors and peeked through the windows, “I’m sure you’ll know your way around in no time!”

 Her heart started to race, “Oh god, what did I just get myself into?”

 “Rox, wait, can I call you Rox? You’re gonna be amazing!” He turned her to face him, “I just read about your restaurant in the paper! You’re a big deal!”

 Roxy laughed, “No offence, but you get the paper?”

 Eggsy blushed instantly, “Harry has it delivered.”

 “There it is.” she teased, bumping their shoulders together.

 -----

 James and Roxy stood outside of Kingsman, holding on to their knife cases. He looked at Roxy’s grim expression, “We can do this, Rox. “

 She took a deep breath and pulled open the door, “God, I hope you’re right.”

 They quickly made their way to the kitchen and attempted to take it all in. The cooks were already hard at work, prepping things for the first night’s service. Pots were boiling, ovens were filled with delicious smelling things and everyone moved around everyone else effortlessly. Roxy felt her stomach drop, she grabbed onto James’ sleeve, “I can’t do this. This is too much.”

 He pulled her off to the side and bent down to her level, “Roxy, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t deserve it. Now let’s change and get ready to kick some ass. We’ve got this!”

 Roxy rifled through her bag and started to panic all over again, “I can’t find mum’s earrings! I need them!”

 “Roxy,” James’ stern voice got her attention instantly, “There isn’t any time. You’ll be fine without them.”

 “No I won’t! All of this amazing stuff started happening when I wore her earrings! Can you think of any other reason why my cooking improved?!”

 James rested his hands on her shoulders again, “Yes, I can. It’s because you wanted it enough. You’ve worked so hard to get here and you deserve this.” He spun her around and started walking towards the main part of the kitchen.

 When they faced the large group of cooks, Roxy cleared her voice loudly and they all stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to her, “Um, my name is Roxy Morton and I’ll be the chef this evening,” she gestured to James, “this is James Spencer and he’ll be my sous chef.” No one said anything to her. They immediately got back to work as if she hadn’t said anything. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mr. Spencer,” she mumbled.

 ----

 So far, the opening night was a success. The live band added a touch of class to the evening. The entire restaurant was decked out with lilies, white twinkle lights and splashes of gold and silver were everywhere.

 Harry adjusted his bow tie and walked towards the champagne tower; he’d assumed that was where he’d find Eggsy. Much to his delight, the young man he was searching for had just picked up a second champagne flute and handed it to him. Harry let his eyes drift down Eggsy’s Kingsman tailored tuxedo; it was a bold off-white jacket, with silver buttons on the shirt and crisp-looking black trousers. He leaned in to kiss Eggsy’s cheek, “You look like a tasty little tart,” he couldn’t help but keep a possessive hand on the young man’s hip.

 Merlin walked up to them with another older man following behind him, “Harry, Eggsy, this is Richard Bennett from the Daily Express.”

 Pleasantries were exchanged before Richard tipped his glass to Harry, “Hart, you’ve got a hit on your hands! Everyone is impressed!”

 Harry smiled graciously, “Thank you so much!”

 "I must say I'm surprised you got Rossi! He's a tough man to book. I can't wait to see what he creates for this evening!"

 Harry's smile weakened and he nodded at Richard.

 Richard walked away happily and Merlin looked at the two of them carefully, “So when did _this_ , come about?” he gestured between them.

 Eggsy looked up into Harry’s eyes, “It happened when Harry managed to get his head out of his arse for all of a second to see me being a disgusting flirt.”

 “Well, you’re right about one thing,” Merlin grimaced as Harry kissed the tip of Eggsy’s nose.

 -----

 Roxy called over to Rossi’s former sous chef, “Where are the truffles?”

 The demoted sous chef smiled at her smugly, “Chef Rossi took them.”

 “Are you serious?!” she asked, walking towards his station, “How am I supposed to make truffle slippers without any truffles?!”

 “I think the real question is would you even be able to make them, if you had the truffles.”

 “OUT!” James yelled.

 The ex sous chef glared at them both and stalked out of the kitchen.

 James followed Roxy back to the stove, “We can do this, Rox. I still believe it.”

 Roxy stirred the sauce slowly, “I’m so glad you think so,” she sniffled. She shut her eyes and tried to push all the negative thoughts out of her mind. But tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to breathe deeply. Nothing was working. This experiment was going to fail, she’d be out of a job in no time, ruining lives wherever she went. She continued to stir the sauce, not paying attention to the fact that a few of her tears had fallen in the pot.

 Nudging her shoulder, James cracked a smile, “We’ve got this, remember?”

 Roxy nodded, “Yes, I know you’re right,” she turned around to face the rest of the staff, “the menu is changing, so pay attention and we’ll hopefully make it through tonight it one piece!” she steeled herself in case of a disagreement. When there was none, she grinned back at James and carried on with the sauce.

 -----

 The appetizers came out and looked absolutely stunning. Eggsy poked at his with his fork, eager to try it but didn’t want to be rude for eating hastily. He cut into the appetizer and took a small bite at the same time as Harry. The flavours that exploded in his mouth were incredible. There was no way something like a fig should taste that good. He turned around in his chair to look at Merlin, “Mate, why aren’t you eating this? It’s aces!”

 Merlin worried his lip, “I’m too nervous to eat.”

 “Your loss!” Eggsy sang. He took another bite and stopped; his eyes started to water and before he knew what was happening, he was openly weeping at the table. He looked at other tables and it was obvious that everyone was having the same sort of moment. The dining room was filled with cries and sobs from other diners.

 Harry grasped his hand on the table, “Darling-”, he sniffled, “Is this the most amazing thing you’ve ever eaten?!” Harry burst into tears, covering his face with his tuxedo sleeve. He felt Eggsy’s arms around him and that brought on a fresh batch of tears.

 Percival stood at the edge of the room, his eyes widened to a comical degree. Never had he seen an entire room of people burst into tears while eating. It was the most insane thing he’d ever witnessed. He turned around and rushed into the kitchen, “Roxy!” he hissed loudly.

 She rushed over to him, “What? Why do you look so panicked?!”

 “I don’t mean to alarm you, but there’s something bizarre happening out there.”

 Roxy shoved past Percival and ran into the dining room, James at her heels. They both stood, slack-jawed at the group weeping that was happening. Roxy shook her head and ran back into the kitchen, “Oh my god! Oh my god! What have I done?! I just came here to tell him I loved him and look at me! My food is making everyone cry!” she cried.

 Percival’s hands sat on her shoulders and he shook her, “Roxanne Olivia Morton, look at me. Yes, they may be crying, but they’re not leaving. I’ve tried the food, it’s fantastic!”

 “How is it fantastic?!” she scoffed, “I’m probably killing them!” she gestured to the dining room.

 “I can’t really explain it, but I think it’s your emotions. They’re getting absorbed into the food!”

 Roxy was about to argue when James walked back into the kitchen, “Well, the good news is, they’re not crying anymore.”

 A hopeful smile broke out across Roxy’s face, “They’re not?”

 James shook his head, “No, they’re just...silent.”

 Roxy cocked an eyebrow and went back into the dining room. Her eyes cast out across the room of stunned, dreamy faces. No one was moving. No one was speaking. It was pure silence.

 On the other side of the room, Merlin looked around in a panic, he leaned over Eggsy’s chair, “Why is everyone so quiet?” he whispered.

 In a daze, Eggsy smiled slightly, “It’s….nutty…..hazelnutty…” he said peacefully.

 Merlin scowled at the dining room in general, “I can’t bloody watch this.”

 Back at the kitchen doors, James snapped Roxy out of her reverie, “You’re only going to use your power for good, right?” he teased.

 Just happy to see that no one was dying or had left, Roxy smacked his arm, “Oh very funny. I can’t explain it, but I don’t want to jinx it.” They walked back into the kitchen and started to set up the dessert, “Bring me that vanilla orchid, please,” she asked James.

 She was going to recreate the sauce she’d made for Merlin that first time. By the time it was plated, even the cooks had gone a bit silent in awe.

 “What will this one do?” James asked earnestly.

 “Oh, knock it off!” she smiled, “I did think about falling in love though,” her eyes sort of glassed over. She took a deep breath, “I think I’m just going to take off, James. I want to leave on a high note.”

 James nodded and gave her a huge hug before she went to collect her things and made her way out into the dining room. Couples were making their way down to the dance floor, Harry and Eggsy appeared to be leading the dance. She grinned at the lovey dovey faces everyone was making, her eyes cast about the room, looking for Merlin, hoping he had eaten the dessert. Deep down she feared that he wouldn’t have eaten it and when she finally saw him across the room, scowling by the doors, her heart sank. He hadn’t eaten and obviously wanted nothing to do with her. She watched him leave and waited a few moments before leaving herself.

 ----

 Merlin sat in his office, staring at the knife in his screen. He was so glad that Rossi had left; that man was just a pain in the arse and they were so much better off without him. Which meant that they were much better off with Roxy. Why couldn’t _he_ be better off with Roxy? She’d brought nothing but light into his life and he’d turned her away because he’d gotten scared. Why was he so scared? Roxy had given him no reason to truly distrust her, she’d been the one to change something in him, when he was so set in his ways. _Oh fuck._

For the second time in two days, Eggsy had been right; Merlin cursed at that fact. If he’d actually paid any attention to his own body, he’d have noticed that he wasn’t losing control, he was simply falling head over heels in love for the first time in his life and was terrified. The more he thought about it, the more he’d realized that Roxy had been going through the same thing and had been shut down by him in the process. A sinking feeling settled over him. There was a good chance he’d fucked it up beyond all recognition and had lost the one person who ended up meaning the world to him. He stood up abruptly and ran down several floors to the restaurant.

 Merlin swung the kitchen doors open, only to startle a dishwasher. He apologized and walked through the space determinedly. Roxy’s brother, Percival, stepped in front of him, nearly causing him to crash into the other man.

 “Why are you here?” Percival asked quietly, with a hint of anger in his tone.

 “To apologize for being a massive wanker,” he said seriously.

 “And?”

 “To tell her I love her.”

 Percival seemed satisfied with that answer and looked at Merlin with intent, “Do not mess this up, alright? She is more worthy than she gives herself credit for. If you break her heart, my husband will not hesitate to kill you.”

 “Percy!” James yelled.

 “Oh he’ll do it. He’d do it for Roxy.”

James stood next to Percy and shrugged, “He’s right. I would,” he made pointed eye contact with Merlin.

 Merlin backed up a little and nodded, “I understand. May I speak with her?”

 James sucked the air through his teeth, “Oh fuck, she left like fifteen minutes ago!”

 “Oh for the love of-seriously?! I could’ve run after her by now!” he shouted, running out of the kitchen.

 Thankfully the store was empty as he ran through each floor. He was banking his success on the fact that Roxy had always managed to get lost in the large building. But floor after floor, he couldn’t find her. His heart ached. This was it. He was too lost in his own head to see what was in front of him and he’d lost her.

 He stopped in the foyer and looked around wildly.

She was gone.

Merlin trudged over to the elevator and pressed the button. The least he could do would be to go grab his keys and drive over to the restaurant and plead his case in person. He leaned up against the wall and sighed. He hated himself for being so stubborn, it had cost him the best thing to happen to him in a long time. The elevator door pinged open and Merlin barely lifted his head to walk in. He looked down at a small pair of kitchen clogs and his head snapped up to see a very startled Roxy looking at him.

 She poked her head out of the elevator, “This doesn’t look like the Cop Out Department,” her eyes narrowed as she looked back at him.

 “Christ, Roxy, I’m sorry,” he pleaded.

 Roxy simply crossed her arms and didn’t say a word.

 “I’m sorry because I’ve spent my entire life as a man who needs to be in control. It’s affected almost all of my personal relationships and I’ve always blamed the other person. But then you came along and- and you just opened up my world. You make me want to stop and smell the roses, Roxy. You make me want to let go of my control and just let life happen. Most importantly, you’ve done what I thought was impossible and helped me fall in love. I used to think love was a weakness but after feeling what it was like for those short few days without you, I know differently.” His hands slid down her arms to grasp her hands, “I’m sorry I was so stupid. And if you’re open to it, I want you too,” he cupped her face and kissed her forehead.

 “You’re in love with me?” she looked at him skeptically.

 Merlin nodded, “I just need a second chance to show you.”

 Roxy sighed and looked up into Merlin’s eyes, “I can probably make that happen,” she smiled weakly.

 “I’ll take whatever I can get, he grinned, tilting her face up to meet his in a tender kiss. “I love you,” he whispered against her skin.

 She pulled back and looked at him quizzically, “Have you eaten any éclairs?”

 Merlin laughed, “No, no romance pastries.”

 “Oh thank god!” Roxy yanked him into a breathless sort of kiss. When they reluctantly parted, she looked up at him shyly, “So is this the part where I say I love you too?”

 “It wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he teased, “but only if you mean it. I’m not against waiting for you to be ready.”

 Roxy straightened his tie with a smug look on her face, “Well, aren’t you just so lucky that I love you back?”

 Merlin nodded, “I am the luckiest.”

 “Have you eaten?”

 He shook his head,“I’m famished.”

 Roxy grabbed ahold of his tie and pulled him out of the elevator, “I just so happen to know a place that’s open this late.”

 His hands rested on her waist, “Oh really? Do they serve something other than aphrodisiac desserts?”

 She spun around and smacked him on the shoulder, “You’re lucky I love you so much, otherwise I wouldn’t tolerate that level of sarcasm.”

 Merlin grinned wickedly, “Oh you love it.”

 Roxy bit her lip and winked, “You know I do.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I totally changed the ending (bc any cook knows that some fancy dress isn't going to make them feel amazing after spending the night in a hot kitchen, being sweaty and smelling of food), got rid of Merlin's character's obsession with paper airplanes and refused to include that weird magical crab (but instead made him a regular crab). 
> 
>  
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this silly fic!
> 
> As always, you can find me as Scandalmuss on tumblr!!


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